Influence of decellularized matrix derived from human mesenchymal stem cells on their proliferation, migration and multi-lineage differentiation potential

Developing biomaterials to promote stem cell proliferation and differentiation is a critical requirement in tissue engineering and regeneration. Extracellular matrix (ECM) derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has recently been shown to be able to maintain the differentiation potential of MSCs during culture expansion and to restore the activities of aging MSCs, suggesting that MSC ECM (MECM) may be a suitable culture substrate to enhance the bioactivity of biomaterial scaffolds for MSCs. This investigation aims to characterize the biological nature and specificity of the influence of the MECM on MSCs. Native ECM produced by human MSC in vitro was extracted in urea, and the residual pellet was further processed with pepsin digestion (denoted as U-MECM and HP-MECM, respectively). The MECM products were then coated as a substrate on standard tissue culture plastic, and the behavior of MSCs seeded on the coated surfaces was studied. Our results showed that U-MECM coating dramatically accelerated MSC proliferation, attachment, spread, migration and multi-lineage differentiation (i.e., osteogenesis and adipogenesis), compared to collagen type I and HP-MECM coating. Non-collagenous proteins are likely the bioactive components in U-MECM, as MSCs cultured on collagen type I and HP-MECM showed similar biological activities, and collagen type I appeared to be the major protein components remaining in HP-MECM based on SDS-PAGE. These findings support the biological utility of MECM in the formulation of biomaterial scaffolds to enhance MSC bioactivities, including proliferation, migration and multi-lineage differentiation, for tissue regeneration applications.